Well, in a home environment, easily >20 years. The rubber surrounds (or polymers/elastomers) in general can age from UV, high/low temperatures, oxidation etc. What happens in that they gradually stiffen (changing the bass response and tuning).
For our woofers, we use NBR, a synthetic rubber that is quite stable and good as far as performance and longevity.
Our planar drivers, as long as they aren’t overpowered could conceivable last indefinitely. The aluminum traces are coated in a photoresist and keep them from oxidizing and there’s really no “wear” per se.
Yes, thanks Chris, I thought so, that aging is only a matter for the conventional drivers. Even if speakers last 20 years or more, it may be quite a topic for the one or other of us, what happens, if he has to get a replacement after that time, or if it means getting rid of the speaker without any refund by being able to sell it. Some of us might plan to keep an expensive speaker for quite some time that could be in that range. I certainly wouldn’t guess, that any speaker manufacturer keeps spare parts for such a time range, especially because it wouldn’t help keeping it for the time, but it would have to be able to be newly produced then (over 20 years forward).
My Infinity Modulus speakers are approaching 32 years old, and the rubber surrounds on the woofers still appear in great condition. The subwoofer has foam surrounds, which of course degrade and were recently refoamed. The Emit k tweeters, while working great, cannot be replaced (which @aangen might find amusing, lol) as the facility that made them was destroyed by fire.
Interesting. I think I’m probably in the FR 10 to FR 5 range, but not sure how they will compete with other speakers in the price range. It will be interesting to see. They would need to outperform my Wharfedale EVO 4.4’s.
I wonder if PSA will be looking to build a bookshelf that is similar to the “rare as hens teeth to find a pic of” Sprout 2-way bookshelf speakers we saw early prototypes of way back when the AN was a prototype. Those looked interesting.
I just heard the FR 30 at the excellent Mala Audio here in Norway, and my jaw dropped. It was one of those “WTF is that?” moments, pardon my french. The way those speakers grabbed your attention was something else. Probably the most impressive speakers I have heard, also compared to much more expensive offerings. They didn’t seem to be super dependent on room treatment either to sound good since the room they played in weren’t treated much yet - but it was a fairly large room. Though they looked a bit too big for my listening room, especially being in Europe where our listening rooms/houses are a bit smaller compared to the US typically, so I am hopefully looking forward to try out the FR20s. I usually don’t buy into hyperbole but well done Chris, Paul and rest of the PS Audio team. I hope you continue to bring out products down the line so many people can enjoy your offerings.
I have also heard the FR30’s a couple of times at Mala in Norway. Last visit were together with the BHK600. They are seamless from bottom to top and I was immediately found myself drawn into the music. This is really a good speaker. The FR30 is to big for my living room but if the FR20 is 80-90% of the FR30 I might consider to replace my great Piega C711’s…which also is very very good speakers🤗
Yep, in same boat as you. And yes, it was with the new BHK600s I heard the FR30s as well, not sure how much that impact is compared to the lower models, but some I am sure.
I had the same concerns regarding my Tidal Piano Ceras, as I consider them my “end game” speakers. I did a little digging around Accuton’s (they manufacture Tidal’s drivers) website and I found a statement from the company president who said they expect their speakers with their drivers to be something “you’ll be able to hand down to your grandchildren.”
